In a Cabinet meeting held here today under the Chairmanship of U.P. Chief Minister, Km. Mayawati several points were presented regarding the betterment and welfare of schedule castes and scheduled tribes. · The Uttar Pradesh Government has given the top priority to establish the ‘’rule of law by law'’ through creating the atmosphere for development and establishing the society free from injustice, crime, terror and corruption. · In the year of 2005 and 2006 the incidents regarding the harassment of scheduled castes/scheduled tribes increased tremendously. The cases of murder increased 16.9 per cent, rape 15 per cent, arson 41.7 per cent, serious injuries 49 per cent, other cognisable offences 47.3 per cent, crimes under anusuchit jati/janjati atyachar nivaran adhiniyam 43.3 per cent. · The law and order situation has improved remarkably during the four months regime of present government. Due the policies of the government the crime against scheduled castes/scheduled tribes people has decreased in 2007 in comparison to the year of 2006. The incidents of murder have decreased 26 per cent, arson 23.5 per cent, rape 16.3 per cent, serious injuries 37.8 per cent and the crimes under anusuchit jati/janjati atyachar nivaran adhiniyam decreased 1.6 per cent and Nagrik Suraksha Adhiniyam 40 per cent. · The government ensured action after inquiry in the registered cases scheduled castes/scheduled tribes harassment including murder and rape from May 13, 2007 to Aug. 31, 2007. · There is no slackness in the implementation of anusuchit jati/janjati atyachar nivaran adhiniyam and it is being ensured that this act could not be misused in any way. Cases are being registered under the act in the serious matters including murder and rape after the confirmation of crimes. · Earlier, the people were being harassed and did not get justice even their F.I.Rs were not being lodged. Directives have been issued to police for registering F.I.Rs for one month after issuing of government order in these cases after the formation of government. 7,057 F.I.Rs have been lodged so far. The Uttar Pradesh Government is also ensuring that F.I.R. could not be lodged on the basis of caste, religion and political enmity. · Arrangement has been made for appointing the police officers on the posts of police station officers, in charge inspectors 23 per cent from scheduled castes/scheduled tribes and 27 per cent from OBCs. Several muslim community people are also included in the category of OBCs. · The Uttar Pradesh Government has given the top priority for providing land to the patta land holders and removing the illegal possessions on this land through effective action. Special campaign has been launched for it under which 50,000 patta holders have got the possession during the short period of three months, while in the year of 2005-06, 27,435 scheduled caste people and 77 scheduled tribe people got the possession. Likewise, in the year of 2006-07, 21,396 scheduled caste people and 210 scheduled tribe people got possessions. The present government has also decided to regularise the illegal possessions on gram sabha land till May 13, 2007 of scheduled castes/ scheduled tribes agriculture labourers. · In the year of 2004 the government has changed the law regarding patta allotment under which scheduled caste/ scheduled tribe people were removed from the first priority though this arrangement was there for a very long time. After coming into the power the present government amended the priority order in patta allotment law under which scheduled castes/ scheduled tribes would get first priority, OBCs will be on the second number and the people belonging to upper caste living below the poverty line would be on third priority. · The present government is fulfilling its responsibility for betterment and welfare of scheduled caste/ scheduled tribe people with full honesty. The special recruitment campaign for filling the backlog posts in government services is in its last phased. · The Uttar Pradesh Government has also requested to the Centre to fill up the backlog quota at national level, but the Union Government has not taken any initiative in this regard, so far. It has also requested to the Centre to implement the reservation system in private sector jobs in view of the disinvestment in public sector, but the Union Government has not taken positive steps in this direction. The U.P. Government has decided to make arrangements regarding 10 per cent scheduled castes, 10 per cent OBCs and backward religious minorities and 10 per cent upper caste poor people reservation in the industrial units, projects and establishment that receive facilities from the government. · 16 backward castes were included in the list of scheduled castes in the year of 2004. The present government has cancelled this because it was not accordance with the law and State Government has not right to take such decision. · The Uttar Pradesh Government has taken the decision to construct two lakh houses costing Rs. 500 crore with a view to provide shelter to the scheduled caste/scheduled tribe people. · The U.P. Government has constituted a high powered State level vigilance and monitoring committee for the effective implementation of anusuchit jati/janjati atyachar nivaran adhiniyam provisions. This committee comprising MLAs, MPs and other representatives has been constituted after 15 years. · During the review of economic assistance being provided to the poor and unemployed scheduled caste people through Rashtriya Anusuchit Jati Vitta Evam Vikas Nigam (Anuvini), it was found that an amount of Rs. 22,222.20 lakh was demanded from Rashtriya Nigam against the notional allotment of Rs. 15,707.41 lakh during last five years, but the Rashtriya Nigam has made available Rs. 9,113.49 lakh only, which is 41.01 per cent of the amount demanded. The Chief Minister has written a letter in this connection on September 19, 2007 requesting the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to provide proper amount of money as soon as possible. · With the view to ensure participation of all sections of the society in public distribution system, it has been decided to implement the reservation system in the vacancies of of fair price shops allotment 21 per cent scheduled castes, 02 per cent scheduled tribes and 27 per cent belonging to OBC people with immediate effect. · The Chief Minister has requested to the Prime Minister to make available the due total amount of Rs. 529.53 crore for distribution of free books under book bank scheme to the students of vocational courses, scholarships to scheduled caste students. Giving details the Chief Minister has written that U.P. Government has not received the amount of Rs. 90.05 crore in the year of 2003-04, Rs. 92.47 crore of 2004-05, Rs. 78.88 crore of 2005-06, Rs. 112.46 crore of 2006-07, Rs. 149.88 crore of 2007-08 and Rs. 5.79 crore under the book bank scheme for vocational courses. ***********

AHMEDABAD–With his party members refusing to support him- Narendra Modi, during the forthcoming assembly elections in Gujarat, political situation was never ever so complex and confusing for him and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP central leadership has even been asked to decide between the party and Modi. If BJP senior leaders insist on supporting Modi, several BJP dissidents have signaled that they would rather align with Congress than remain in the party.

The Gujarat assembly elections are due in November. “Oust Narendra Modi at all costs” was the cry of BJP dissidents gathered last week along with several Congress leaders at a major farmers’ rally held at Race Course ground in Rajkot under the banner of Sardar Patel Utkarsh Sewa Mandal. More than 150,000 people, primarily from Kutch and Saurashtra turned up for the convention, with two farmer communities Patel and Koli present in significant number. Among the prominent leaders present at the convention were Vithal Radadia, Congress MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) and BJP MPs (Members of Parliament) Somabhai Patel and Valabh Kataria.

Radadia, who played a crucial role in organizing the farmers’ convention, the mahasammelan (mega-meet), said: “All the farmers have come here on their own because they are frustrated and fed up with Modi and his government’s anti-farmer policies and stands.” “The state government doesn’t have even a piece of land to give to a poor farmer. But it magnanimously gives acres to industrialists,” he said.

With BJP dissidents mincing no words in criticizing Modi, home minister in the previous BJP government Gordhan Zadaphia said: “Modi has committed so many sins on the hallowed land of Mahatma Gandhi’s origins that all those who vote against him in the coming assembly elections will earn a lot of punya (morals). Women are raped and killed by the day while he keeps boasting that they are the most protected lot in Gujarat.” Describing Modi as the “the biggest terrorist” in the country, BJP dissident Dhiru Gajera said: “There is just no limit to man’s crimes. He will go to any level to win to coming polls. But we farmers and others will defeat his deadly designs.”

What was unique about this convention, unlike other rebel gatherings, was that for the first time the BJP dissidents called on the people to vote for the Congress and defeat the BJP. Shouting anti-Modi slogans, they adopted a resolution to defeat the “autocratic and dictatorial” chief minister in the polls. The conclave also hit out at Modi’s mentor, L.K. Advani. Claiming that there was no BJP in Gujarat, Gajera said: “It is Modi’s private limited company. There are only two parties, the Congress and Modi.”

Though the BJP dissident leaders did not refrain from urging the farmers to “crush the lotus,” the BJP symbol, they did not reveal as to what were their political plans, that of joining Congress, forming a separate party or otherwise. As expressed by Kataria: “We have not decided upon our final strategy as yet. For now, we are mobilizing people against Modi’s autocracy.” Emphasizing that their stand was against Modi and not against BJP, Soma Patel and Kataria even challenged the party to suspend them for having adopted this approach.

Against this backdrop, while Modi’s return to power seems unlikely, it is still too early to speculate whether this development signals favorable chances for the Congress or not. If the BJP decides on selecting former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, in place of Modi, party dissidents may be won over. Though Patel was not present at the farmers’ gathering, Zadaphia claimed: “We have not invited him to this convention. But we have his blessings.”

Going forward, the political drama in Gujarat has ceased to be a battle between only the Congress and BJP, as Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) aims to gain power here. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati began BSP’s campaign in Gujarat by addressing a rally in Vadodara (September 16). Signaling her party’s aim to repeat its UP-success in Gujarat, BSP-supremo said that if her party could form the UP government on its own strength, it was possible for it to do so in Gujarat also. Mayawati said: “If this could happen in UP, why can’t we do it in Gujarat?” Outlining BSP’s electoral strategy, she said: “Whether we are weak or strong in any part of Gujarat, we will field all candidates in all 182 assembly constituencies in the state and will be successful as we were in UP elections.” Lashing at both the Congress and BJP, Mayawati appealed to people of Gujarat to vote for her party to remove Modi-led government. With BJP dividing people on basis of religions and Congress on basis of castes, only BSP unites people of all communities on basis of “bhaichara” (brotherhood), she asserted. So people of Gujarat must vote for BSP, Mayawati said.

Irrespective of which party/alliance assumes power in Gujarat, it seems clear that Modi is unlikely to be chief minister!

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Online edition of India’s National NewspaperFriday, Sep 21, 2007

Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old copper hoard

‘It was hidden in a house in Udaipurwa village for melting’

Lucknow: Archaeologists have discovered a copper hoard believed to be nearly 4,000-years-old near a village in Auraiya district of Uttar Pradesh, raising hopes of its radiocarbon dating and understanding the culture and chronology of that period.

“The hoard, weighing about 25 kilograms and consisting of various types of artifacts, including a barbed spearhead, an anthropomorphic figure, flat shouldered axes, chisels and rings, was discovered quite accidentally,” director, UP Directorate of Archeology, Rakesh Tewari, said.

He said the hoard, which was accidentally discovered by a villager in the fields on August 31 last, was hidden in a house in Udaipurwa village for melting.

The local police, however, came to know of the discovery and raided the house and recovered the hoard, Tewari said.

It was later examined by the archaeologists of the Directorate, he said, adding that the exploration of the area showed that it was part of an ancient site which comprised a thick cultural deposit.

The site was located to the south of Udaipurwa village near the Rind river, which was a tributary of Yamuna and extended roughly in an area of 1.5 to 2 acres, he said.

Cultivation

Presently, this piece of land is under cultivation, Mr. Tewari added.

“The exposed sections indicate that the site may be containing about 1.5 to 2 metre thick cultural deposit,” the director said. - PTI

Abducted Delhi boy found in Hardoi

Hardoi: An eight-year-old boy, kidnapped from Delhi two days ago, was found on Thursday near Shahabad railway station in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh.

According to police sources, young Rahul Shukla was found by a district police team patrolling near rail tracks. He was kidnapped from Delhi’s Jehangirpuri area on Tuesday and the abductors were demanding a ransom of Rs. 5 lakh.

Police said the kidnappers had released the boy for fear of being nabbed.

Fossil discovery a challenging job: Misra

Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW: Earth scientist S.B. Misra, who discovered a fossil 565 million years of age in Mistaken Point in the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland (Canada) 40 yeas ago, says he was the first person who conducted geological mapping of the remote area.

The fossil has been named after him, Fractofusus misrai.Talking to The Hindu at his Gomtinagar residence here, the retired earth scientist recalled that the discovery of the fossil was a challenging job entrusted to him by W.D. Brueckner, Head of Department at the Memorial University, Newfoundland, St John’s. “The Avalon Peninsula was a remote area and the Mistaken Point area juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Around 50 ships were said to have crashed into Mistaken Point.”

It was during the course of mapping that Dr. Misra discovered in 1967 imprints of “organisms” 565 million years old. “This was the first convincing and oldest discovery from North America, although a similar discovery had been made in England in 1958,” he said.

Dr. Misra, who retired after teaching in Kumaon University, Nainital (Uttarakhand), has settled down in Lucknow. He runs a school in his village, Kunaura, about 40 km from here. It is now being managed by his wife. It was his love for promoting rural education that led him to open the school in 1972, shortly after he returned from Canada.